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“Unite the Right.” Get out.

Obviously, I haven’t had the time or energy for posting in awhile. With an addition to our family keeping me quite busy, as well as a bit of an internet related burned out feeling, it’s been the last thing I wanted to work on. But something was brought to my attention and I feel the need to comment on it. If the following words anger people… Well, that’s fine.

There is an event happening this weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, only a few hours drive from where I grew up. It’s called Unite the Right, and the event page on Facebook explains the purpose as:

“In response to the Alt-Right’s peaceful demonstration in support of the Lee Monument on May 13th, the City of Charlottesville and roving mobs of Antifa have cracked down on the First Amendment rights of conservatives and right wing activists. They have threatened our families, harassed our employers and tried to drive us from public spaces with threats of intimidation. We are not afraid. You will not divide us.

This is an event which seeks to unify the right-wing against a totalitarian Communist crackdown, to speak out against displacement level immigration policies in the United States and Europe and to affirm the right of Southerners and white people to organize for their interests just like any other group is able to do, free of persecution.”

So at the basis of this is supposed to be the protection of southern history and the Robert E. Lee statue, right? And plenty of people who claim to support southern heritage, the Confederacy, etc. are apparently planning to attend.

No. I MIGHT have been able to believe that if the event featured authors of historical books or such noteworthy supporters of the Confederate battle flag as H.K. Edgerton. But Augustus Invictus? What drugs are you on if you’re a supporter of southern history and think THIS is the way to get a different side of the story out there? The only story this event will get out there is the idolization of a skin color and the disregard for anything but ‘western civilization.’

This isn’t about free speech. By throwing your lot in with these people you are showing your true colors. You’re showing that it’s not the history you care about, because these people are the epitome of what the mainstream history books have been writing about the south for years. You’re showing that, unlike Robert E. Lee to whom honor meant everything, you have no honor at all. Do you really think that Lee would want you to be so desperate to defend his statue that he would wish you to debase yourself by accepting any allies you can find even when it means compromising your own position?

For years people like this have been hijacking the Confederate battle flag, using it for their purpose, and now you’ll stand with them? What exactly do you think you will prove?

No, that’s a rhetorical question. I don’t actually want a response because I don’t think my stomach can handle it right now. I abhor the mainstream portrayal of my ancestors, but I’m not naive. There were racists, there was mistreatment of slaves, there is no such thing as a race being superior, and I’m disgusted that there are people out there purporting to support our ancestors by joining this.

Exactly why should I bother trying to find the time to write again? Or defend anything? You are undermining the entire thing better than those who hate the Confederacy could ever have done. In fact, I have half a mind to take down this blasted blog and those posts I have written because I’m so annoyed right now.